Ian Simpson's Blog - Posts Tagged "st-andrews"

'Only Ian could have blood AND vomit on the Old Course,' a fastidious friend commented about the start of Murder on the Second Tee. I'm not so sure about that. A lot of different fluids have been spilled on the sacred links over the centuries. And in a variety of circumstances.
The setting of the book struck a more positive note with a Goodreads friend; it reminded him of a birdie he had at the eighteenth.
I remember the great PD James giving a lecture in which she spoke of the importance of place to a story. If the background is convincing it makes the book convincing provided that what happens is in some way moulded by the place. A particular place can affect the behaviour of those who live and work there, and sometimes even visitors.
I was lucky enough to have been brought up in St Andrews and to have played the Old Course many times. The course has seen many dramas over the years and has tested the great and the good, the rich and the famous. And ordinary people; it belongs to the community, not a club, and anyone may enter the ballot for tee times or enjoy walks across it on a Sunday, as the course has always been shut on the Sabbath (except if there is a big tournament).
If the course is not enough, the Royal Burgh, or 'the auld grey toon' is steeped in history. It has been pounded by French guns, and during the religious struggles protestant martyrs have been burned at the stake and a catholic cardinal's body hung from the walls of the castle.
The challenge for me was to write a story worthy of the background.